Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These are some of the pictures as promised. The Mali's are getting ready for hibernation, only eating seeds now and the niger is brand new and only wants to mate. I have never witnessed uro's mating before, it's quite amusing. The female is not receptive and flips on her back when he mounts. I just aquired a Niger Red trio and will show pics shortly. The Male is unbelieveable, he is a long term captive.

You are acclimating, right?

BTW, great looking uros!
-----


2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII (my care sheets)

THE MALIS I'VE HAD FOR A WHILE, AND SEEM TO BE RIGHT ON TARGET. THEIR FECALS WERE GOOD AND BASICALLY HAVE DONE ALL YOU COULD WANT THEM TO DO. I'M IN NEW YORK AND THE WEATHER HAS TURNED UGLY, AND IVE STARTED TO REDUCE THE PHOTO PERIOD, LIGHTS ON AT 730AM AND OFF AT 5PM. THEY STILL COME OUT AND DO THEIR THING, BUT ARE CUTTING DOWN THE FOOD INTAKE. NEXT WEEK I'LL REDUCE THE LIGHT EVEN MORE UNTIL THEY GO DOWN AND KEEP AT ROOM TEMP FOR 60 DAYS. THE NIGERS ON THE OTHER HAND. THE FEMALE I HAND PICKED AT A SHOW ABOUT A MONTH AGO--MORE LIKE A MERCY BUY---I'LL BET SHES THE ONLY SURVIVOR FROM THAT BUNCH, BUT SHE IS AWESOME AND DOING SPECTACULARLY, I'LL CHECK FECAKS SOON, BUT I'LL BET SHE COMES UP NORMAL. THE NEW YELLOW MALE CAME FROM SOMEONE WHO HAD IT SINCE IT WAS 6 MONTHS OLD. THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAVE IS THAT THE GUY HIBERNATED IT IN OCTOBER. I THOUGHT HE WAS PERFECT UNTIL I GOT THIS RED MALE (PICS SOON) I NOW THINK HE COULD USE SOME MORE WEIGHT. THE PROBLEM IS HE'S IN COMPLETE BREEDING MODE AND IN BOBBING AND WEAVING LIKE A NUT--ALL DAY LONG--UNTIL HE GETS OUT OF THAT MODE I DOUBT IF HE'S GOING TO PACK ON THE WEIGHT, BUT WE'LL SEE, HE'S STILL SETTLING IN. THE RED TRIO WERE BROUGHT OVER BY A FRIEND SO THEY NEW TO ME AND WE'LL SEE. THIS GUY HAD THE MALE FOR 5 YRS AND THE FEMALES FOR 2, AND THEY BREED EVERY YEAR FOR HIM SO I'M HOPEFUL. WHAT WERE YOUR SPECIFIC CONCERNS?

WHAT WERE YOUR SPECIFIC CONCERNS?

Not so much their health at this point, but rather if they are being quarantined for about 4-6 months before being put in with other uros (obviously this would not be necessary if they're being put with a uros they've already been living with).
Also to help squelch the alpha lizard hazards, when they're getting put together, and one uro has already been living in the tank, it's a good idea to rearrange the interior so it's a "new" enviroment for all.

I wrote this up a while ago as suggestions:
1) First and foremost, be sure that any new arrival is properly acclimated before introducing to another uro for co-habitating.
2) This includes, but not limited to, 4-6 months of living alone in correct environment. Making sure that health is good (no parasites, eating and gaining weight regularly, vet check, etc) before moving again.
3) Get a fully set up and ready tank for the new arrival. Get all the temps and such right.
4) Get the new arrival acclimated to where eating is regular and gaining weight as needed.
5) After that, maybe move the tanks into the same proximity so they can see each other, and monitor them for any eating/appetite changes. After a week or two, if all looks good, try and introduce them.
6) If your going to use one of the existing tanks as their new home, you’ll need to make it a “new” home.
7) I’d remove the uro from the tank, and then take the opportunity to clean it out, including changing the substrate.
8) Rearrange the “furniture” so it really looks like a new environment. This will help eliminate any territorial issues from the one that was there originally.
9) Make sure there is at least one hideout for each uro, though three would be better (more if space allows).
10) Provide at least one food dish for each one as well as a separate basking spot for each.
11) Finally, if all goes well initially, I’d definitely watch and monitor them closely. Again, feeding and weight gain/loss. Sometimes, aggression is very passive and notice so noticeable. Watch for sores or thickening of skin in centralized places which can indicate one uro continually biting the other.

Hope this helps.
-Jim

-----


2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII (my care sheets)

that is an excellent beginners what to do list, its a bit anal but its all pretty true. Its truly amazing how truly social uros are. Almost every specimen i've ever seen has seemed miserable when kept completely alone. they may eat and do the right things, but theres always something missing. But to reply you do have to be somewhat careful about not screwing the whole collection, hopefully it will all work out. My only concern is the yellow niger pair, a bit of a hasty pairing.

Also, the all caps are a bit hard to read with the line spacing of the forum. You may want to consider turning them off.

Just my

-Jim
-----


2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII (my care sheets)

they all have very pretty yellows! i hope hugo looks like your male mali one day, that would be awesome but the little booger has stopped turning darker, however he still is small (the small one in the picture).
just another quick question. is that a heat rock? and is it turned on? they can be dangerous to reptiles.

-----
vonnie
***The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage.
— Mark Russell***

WHEN I STARTED UP AGAIN-OUT OF IT FOR 5 YEARS, DUE TO AN UGLY DIVORCE, I DID SOME HOMEWORK AND DECIDED THAT HOT ROCKS WERE A THING OF THE PAST. I HAD SOME AND CUT THE POWER CORDS OFF, THEY,RE STILL USEFUL ROCKS. FOR THE MOST PART I'M USING SHALE AND CINDER BLOCKS. UROS LOVE THOSE SPACES IN THE BLOCKS, GREAT HIDES. HEAT AND LIGHTING CONSISTS OF A DOUBLE FLUORO FIXTURE, AND 100-160WATT MERC VAPOR SPOTS. TANK IS USUALLY 100-120 ON THE HOT SIDE AND 82-86 ON THE COOL SIDE. ALL CAGES ARE 4'X 2'X 16" HIGH. I'M ONE OF THOSE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVES, WHO REALLY HAS THE BUG. BEFORE I GOT OUT OF IT I WAS ONE OF THE TOP CHAMELEON BREEDERS IN THE COUNTRY, WITH 10 SPECIES TO MY CREDIT. I WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME OF THESE UROS GOING SO THEY STOP BRINGING IN SO MANY PATHETIC SPECIMENS. ALMOST ALL IMPORTS I'VE SEEN LATELY HAVE BEEN HORRIFIC, EVEN MALIS.